Manufacturers do not need more data for its own sake. They need information that helps people see a problem earlier, plan with greater confidence and act before lost time becomes lost output.
The second session at the UKFT Weaving Conference, ‘Innovation Applied’, looks at how bespoke technologies can support that work. Adam Cooperman of Slurp will discuss AI, Laura Hayes of Gemell will cover digital twins, and Paul Mendis of PMSS Academy of Advanced Manufacturing will examine digital dashboards. The Manufacturing Technology Centre will also outline their latest developments.
Each subject addresses a different part of the same operational question: how can a business turn production activity into clearer decisions? A digital twin can help teams model a process or asset before making a physical change. A well-designed dashboard can bring the right measures together without forcing managers to search across disconnected systems. AI can support planning and analysis where the data and business case are sound. Connected factory thinking can link those elements across the operation.
The value of the session is its manufacturing focus. Delegates can listen for the practical conditions that make technology useful: reliable data, defined ownership, staff confidence, integration with existing equipment and a clear problem to solve.
These are often more important than the headline attached to the software.
For weaving businesses at an early stage of digitisation, the session can help clarify where to begin. For businesses already investing, it offers a chance to compare approaches and identify gaps. Technology providers, researchers and manufacturers will be in the same venue, allowing the discussion to continue beyond the presentations.
Productivity improves when information reaches the right person in time to influence an outcome. This session is designed to help manufacturers assess how that principle can be applied in their own mills and factories.
Reserve your conference ticket and hear how connected manufacturing tools are being applied to planning, performance and production.
Event details: 8 October 2026 | 9am–6pm, followed by networking dinner | Cedar Court Hotel, Huddersfield
KEY SPEAKERS:
- Laura Hayes is Strategic Partnerships and Commercial Lead at Gemell, where she leads thedevelopment of the company’s commercial strategy and works closely with suppliers and manufacturers around the world to bring Gemell’s digital twin technology to market. Over the past decade, Laura has built global partnerships with leading brands, mills and manufacturers to accelerate sustainable innovations and emerging materials from development through to commercialisation and scale. Her work sits at the intersection of innovation, strategic partnerships and sustainability. Laura is also a regular writer and speaker on innovation and sustainability.
Gemell is a material visualisation company at the intersection of sustainability, innovation and AI, revolutionising how textile brands, suppliers and manufacturers create and interact with digital versions of yarns and fabrics.
The company uses manufacturing data to create highly accurate 3D digital fabrics, eliminating the need to physically produce up to 70% of fabric samples and helping the industry reduce waste, cost and time. Gemell has established technology partnerships with leading digital design platforms, including Browzwear, helping brands and manufacturers accelerate digital product development and bring innovations to market faster.
- Paul Mendis is the Founder and CEO of PMSS Academy of Advanced Manufacturing, and a coach and expert in manufacturing digitalisation. He has 20 years of manufacturing experience across five countries, including nine years as General Manager of Industrial Engineering at Crystal Martin Ceylon, leading lean transformation across six factories. His career also spans Ford UK Halewood, Nestlé Waters Buxton, Gokaldas Exports in India, and Style Textile in Pakistan. Paul holds a BSc in Applied Science (Textile) from RMIT University, an MBA from Anglia Ruskin University, a GSD Practitioner Licence, a Lean Brown Belt, and an AOTS certificate from Japan.
PMSS Academy of Advanced Manufacturing helps UK manufacturers achieve operational excellence, closing the gap between where they are and where they need to be. Using the AURA framework, Audit, Uplift, Results, Anchor, PMSS combines hands-on lean manufacturing expertise with practical digital transformation, from factory floor process improvement to ERP selection and implementation. PMSS builds in-house capability directly within manufacturing teams, turning strategy into measurable change on the shop floor rather than leaving it on a slide. PMSS is a member of ASBCI and the Huddersfield Textile Society.
- Dr Stuart McLeod, Engineering Manager at The Manufacturing Technology Centre leading a team of 30 engineers developing innovative digital solutions to industrial problems. He has 18 years of Research experience at Loughborough University and Warwick Manufacturing Group working on Innovate UK and Horizon Europe, as well as industrial focussed Digital Automation projects with companies including Ford, Tetra-Pak, Schroders, SAP, Nike and Schnieder Electric. He completed his PhD in 2013 on Engineering tools to support Component Based Automation Systems before joining JLR as a Principal Engineer for Powertrain Advanced Manufacturing in 2014, and in 2017 becoming a Technology Manager for Smart Connected Plant, before joining the MTC in August 2021.
The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is one of the UK's leading research and technology organisations, helping manufacturers develop, prove and adopt innovative technologies that improve productivity, competitiveness and sustainability.
As part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, MTC works with organisations of all sizes, from SMEs to global OEMs, bridging the gap between research and industrial application. Its experts combine engineering excellence, digital innovation and practical manufacturing experience supporting businesses accelerate technology adoption, de-risk investment decisions and bring new products and processes to market faster. MTC's focus on solving real-world industrial challenges and translating emerging technologies into measurable business value.
